Framed

Here is the view looking into the living room, framed by the large glu-lam timber columns and beam, which will be left exposed. The galvanized doo-dads near the top of the beam are hangers which will support the second floor I-joists, and those joists will also be left exposed. The living room floor has standing water because it is recessed for installation of a bamboo wood flooring later on.

Here are a few definitions for those of you not in the design and construction field:

1- Glu-lam: Short for glue laminated, in this case a bunch of finger-jointed 2x6 fir which has been glued together under high pressure. This enables the designer to achieve an appearance similar to the huge old beams of yesteryear, without destroying old growth forests.

2- Doo-dad: A thingy, widget, thingamajig, whatchacallit.

3- I-joist. When viewed from the end, these joists look like a capital letter "I". The ones being used here have 2x4 flanges top and bottom, and the web is 1/2" OSB (Oriented Strand Board). They are 16" deep so they can clear span 22 feet, and can house the necessary heating and cooling duct. The idea is to create a very stiff and strong second floor, and like with glu-lam, use less natural resources.